Kitten
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: AkiHika ish It was a foolish thing to do. But I was young and didn't know any better. "Can I keep him? Do you think he's a stray?" OneShot Now with a sequel - Part II!
1. Part I

AkiHika-ish It was a foolish thing to do. But I was young and didn't know any better. "Can I keep him? Do you think he's a stray?"

**Kitten**

It was a foolish thing to do. But I was young; only five and a half years old. I didn't know any better.

My nanny had taken me out to play in the park. I had never been to the park, so I was fascinated by everything I saw. My nanny said that she wouldn't be able to bring me here for awhile, but that it was Christmas time, and she wanted me to enjoy it outside of the large house my family owned.

I spent the entire morning playing in the snow and generally being silly. I didn't realize that everyone else in the park had a friend. I didn't realize that I couldn't do a lot of the games kids played because I was alone. I was just happy to be there.

Then I saw him. He was sitting underneath the slide at the corner of the park. He had black hair, but his bangs were the most blonde things I'd seen in my life. His clothes were black and yellow too: his jacket, his shirt that peeked out the top, his pants, and his shoes. I guess that's what fooled me.

I ran over and grabbed his hand without even introducing myself. He must've been startled or scared, but I was too preoccupied to notice. I ran over to my nanny with him and declared: "Can I keep him?"

"What?" My nanny asked in confusion, looking at the boy I'd brought her.

"Can I keep him?" I repeated. "I found him under the slide all alone. Do you think he's a stray?"

Yes, I thought he was a lost kitten. Now, when I think about it, I realize it was a foolish thought. He had no fur, no paws, no tail. Still, he was my kitten and I wanted to take him home with me. My nanny tried to tell me no gently, so she went to find the boy's mother while I stayed with the kitten.

"It'll be great," I said to him, and he merely stared right back. "We'll play together every day. There's lots of room at my house, so you'll have a lot of space to run around in!"

I'm not sure if he understood what I meant, but a bright smile lit his face and he gripped the hand I was holding his hand with. I really thought he was a kitten, and that I would get to keep him. But then my nanny came back with the boy's mother, who looked like she would laugh. No doubt my nanny told her I'd mistaken her son for a cat.

I left the park that day in tears, trying to go back and bring the 'kitten' with us. But my nanny wouldn't let me. I didn't forgive her for a week.

I rarely left the house my parents called home. My father was an important man to the world. He ran a large business and held titles in games of strategy like chess and go. I was expected to take over when he was gone. I was taught in a way that I would understand how to deal with people in that world, but I knew nothing of the world right outside my front door.

Now I'm sixteen, and my father is sick. I'm not sure how long he'll last. Soon, unfortunately, I will have to take over my father's company. I will be pressed into playing games and taking titles like him as well, because I am his son.

I like art though. I go around the city we live in and find new art institutes, museums, anything that might include an art form. I like music, painting, photography, writing. I go out every weekend to look at these places and enjoy a different form of life than the one I know.

I never thought I'd see my kitten that day.

Again, it was Christmas time. The streets were covered in snow and trucks came by with water and salt to melt the streets and uncover the sidewalks. I loved snow, so I didn't really care if it was there or not. There were lights in every store and sales every day. I saw Christmas-themed hangers on light poles and stickers on windows wishing everyone happy holidays. Everyone wore thick jackets as the temperatures dropped everyday, with gloves and long pants and boots to cover every bit of skin except the face.

I saw him near a park that was built in the last year.

His hair was black, but his bangs were still the blondest thing I'd ever seen. He wore a black jacket with yellow trimming, and matching pants and boots. His gloves were black as well, but weren't made in a way that hindered his ability to press small buttons or pick things up. He was bent over with a camera at his eye, facing the ground.

I watched from the other side of the street the flash from his camera, then he put it away and bent down to the ground. I was surprised to see him pick up a little grey kitten from the bushes. It looked too young to be alone, and I thought it was cute when the kitten sneezed in his arms. My kitten, which was probably closer to a cat now, unzipped his jacket and put the kitten inside before zipping it almost all the way up again.

He held the kitten in his jacket gently and hurried off down the street. Can you blame me for following?

He stopped at an animal rescue center and went inside. I guess I should've known, since he had a lost kitten with him. I went inside a moment later and walked around until I spotted him in a room near the back. I heard dogs and cats and birds and more, but mostly I heard him and a woman speaking.

"Oh, poor little one," the girl said. She had brown hair that was up in pigtails and big brown eyes. I wouldn't deny that she was cute. I felt jealous.

"Can you save it, Akari?" my kitten asked worriedly. I should've known, but it still surprised me when his voice came out sounding gentle and smooth. It caught me off guard, to tell the truth.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Akari assured him.

"Sai…," my kitten said softly.

"Hm?" Akari asked, already working on warming the kitten up. "What was that?"

"His name is Sai," he repeated. Akari rolled her eyes.

"You have a name for all the animals you bring in. How do you come up with them all?" she asked with a laugh. My kitten looked riled.

"I don't come up with them, it's their names!" he defended.

"Right, right…Cause you can talk to animals, right?" Akari asked.

"I can!" he said angrily, upset that she didn't believe him. "I've told you a thousand times!"

"I know, I know, Hikaru," Akari laughed. "But how can you expect me to take you seriously when you continue to dye your hair like that?" she asked, pausing for a moment in her work to flick one of Hikaru's bangs.

I felt two emotions at once. I was elated to learn his name, but angry that this Akari would _flick_ one of his bangs. How dare she?

"I told you, I have to keep my hair like this," Hikaru muttered. "What if-"

"Yes, you've told me. What if you dye your hair and are never found again?" she said dramatically. "I understand your sentiments, Hikaru, but it was ten years ago. I really don't think anyone would remem-Oh, hello," Akari greeted, finally noticing me standing in the other room. Hikaru turned around with a blush, the conversation had been pretty personal I suppose. "Can I help you?"

"I…," I was at a loss for words. This really _was_ my kitten! But how to approach him? It had been ten years, just talking to him would be weird. "I was just….," then it hit me.

I walked in to the room where Hikaru and Akari were and grabbed Hikaru's hand. He and the girl both looked startled. It didn't matter. Hopefully, they would understand soon.

"Can I keep him?" I asked, pointing to Hikaru next to me. They were both startled, again.

"I'm sorry sir?" Akari asked. "He's not a-"

"I was just thinking he looked like a stray," I explained coolly, without pausing to even think about what I was saying. "So may I keep him?" I stepped a bit in front of Hikaru, without letting go of his hand.

Akari didn't seem able to respond. Her eyes kept flicking between me, who was smiling gently, to Hikaru behind me. I have no doubt that Hikaru must have done something with his free hand, because after a few moments, Akari conceded.

"Um…sure…," she said slowly. "I guess."

"Thank you," I gave a little bow and began leading Hikaru out of the shelter.

I don't know how long we were walking, I just wanted to go somewhere we could talk without all of the noise and bustle of the city. At some point, Hikaru wrapped his fingers around the hand that I was holding his with. It made me blush and I couldn't believe how forward I had been back in the center. I spotted a park and smiled. Perfect.

When we had both stopped in the park, I turned to look at him, but did not drop his hand.

"So, your name is Hikaru?" I asked at length. He seemed startled that I had spoken.

"Uh, yea….Hikaru Shindou. What's yours?" he asked.

"Akira Touya," I introduced.

"No way!" Hikaru gasped loudly. "There must be a mistake…You're the son of Touya Kouyo, the guy in charge of Kouyo Corp!" Hikaru dropped my hand and I "I thought you were someone I used to know, but you can't be…."

"Really, I wouldn't call thirty minutes, _knowing_ each other, but it's close enough," I said, trying to convince him it was me he knew. Why was I always classified by my father?

"I wouldn't even say thirty minutes!" Hikaru disagreed loudly, putting his hands on his hips.

"I do apologize for my behavior that day….I didn't even realize," I stopped myself, realizing how…_rich_ I sounded. "I'm sorry for calling you a kitten."

"Don't worry, I didn't mi-" Hikaru stopped suddenly and blinked a few times before speaking again. "Holy Crap! It _was_ you! I wouldn't have thought…I mean, I've been waiting for….I…,"

"I've been waiting for my father to hand his company over with dread," I said, interrupting him. "Everyone expects me to be some great prodigy, and I don't doubt my skills, but I would rather…," I paused for a moment and decided on a different tactic. "I wasn't expecting to ever see you again. I wasn't allowed to go back to that park, or any place really. It was a shock for me today."

"Well, I've been waiting for years to meet you again," Hikaru admitted, kicking at the snow. "My mom thought it was so cute and she blamed my bangs for the misunderstanding. But you were the first person to ask to be my friend, so I kept my bangs this way…I was hoping they'd….," he cleared his throat. "…lead you…to me…" The blush on his face was endearing and I smiled.

After a moment, I remembered the conversation I had overheard in the animal center. "Can you really speak to animals?" I asked, fascinated. What an experience!

Hikaru seemed frightened of the conversation. His stance told me he wanted to run away, but he stood his ground and merely nodded. I smiled a little wider.

"Since when?" I asked. I'd only known him for a few minutes, but when we were little I would never have guessed he had this ability!

"Since I was born, I think…," he admitted softly. "That day in the park, I was talking to a worm."

"A worm?" I repeated. It was a bit repulsive, but humorous at the same time. I laughed once and he looked up at me with golden green eyes. "I never would have guessed," I responded to his confusion.

"Well, most kids shied away from me because of what I can do, even little ones like that. So I made other friends. The worm just happened to be there," he explained, and I could see his confidence growing.

"Fascinating," I said, and he smiled. "And you have a job now too."

"Well, we usually find animals because people bring them to us or because of abuse. I can find them just by walking around. So I wanted to help out and joined my friend Akari at the animal center…but she doesn't believe me at all." Hikaru frowned and thus, so did I.

I leaned towards him and put my head next to his ear. "It seems my kitten is becoming a cat," I whispered. Hikaru jolted and rubbed his ear, where my breath had hit him. A bright blush was on his face and I smiled. I held out my hand to him. "I want to show you to Maria, my nanny. I'm sure she'd be glad to meet you." It took a moment, but he took my hand. "Then perhaps we'll do something…fun….I'll leave that up to you, because I've never been very good at it."

Hikaru was holding back laughter and I frowned. What was so funny? He answered the question I hadn't asked yet.

"You still have a nanny?" he asked in between laughs. I frowned deeply.

It seemed I needed to train my kitten before it developed too many bad habits.

* * *

I got this idea while reading TysonxKai stories…so I have no idea about it. I hope it wasn't too bad. I feel like it started out strong and ended weakly.

Please review and lemme know what you think!


	2. Part II

Ok, got a review for this story, reread it, read some of the reviews, and decided to write a sequel thing for it. Back by popular demand! This time it's from Hikaru's point of view! It's a bit sadder than the first one. Hopefully some of you are still checking back every once in awhile and will get to read this….

Lemme know what you think! Please and thank you!

* * *

Hikaru sighed and rubbed his hands together. Winter was tapering off, but there was still snow on the ground and the air was still really cold. He leaned against the wall behind him and glanced at the large building to his right. A Go Institute.

He'd been secretly taking Go lessons here for a few months now. Akira's father had died only a month after Akira found him again, so Akira had been taken into the world of business, Go, and chess. Whenever he got the chance, Akira had Hikaru over for lunch or dinner or whatever. Hikaru had taught Akira basic card games (I mean, who doesn't know Go Fish, right?) and introduced him to a few easy video games and manga series, but they never really got a chance to have fun outside the Touya family home. Akira was just…too busy.

So Hikaru thought, perhaps a bit vainly, that if he learned to play the same games as Akira that they could hang out more that way. His instructor at the Institute told him he was a fast learner and wow, did he have a great mind. The man called Hikaru a 'natural' but Hikaru still felt miles behind Akira.

Akira.

Akira was in the Institute right now, playing a title match. It was the day of the last game to decide the winner of the title. Hikaru hadn't paid enough attention to know which title Akira was going for, but he knew it was something Akira's father had once held. Strange, in only a year, Akira was already a brilliant businessman, held several titles in Go, and had won several chess championships. He was absolutely amazing.

Hikaru's cheeks flushed and he looked at the sky. Oh, what would Akira think if he knew Hikaru thought that way? If he knew Hikaru spent his entire day at the shelter wishing he was by Akira's side? If he knew Hikaru wanted to spend the rest of his life with him? If he knew Hikaru thought he was hot, gorgeous, beautiful? Oh what would he think?

Hikaru jumped when something wet hit his cheek and brought his gaze down from the sky to see Akira standing next to him with a small squirt bottle. "Hey!" Hikaru shouted indignantly.

Akira looked mildly amused but also a bit bored. "Bad cat," he said. "You'll catch a cold out here in the snow wearing that."

Hikaru flushed again and looked down at his deep blue t-shirt and jeans. Yea, he was dressed for a warmer season, so what? "I'm not wearing a jacket, so what? It's getting warmer every day."

Water hit his face straight on that time and Hikaru spluttered as he wiped it off. The amusement was fading slowly from Akira's features. "Bad. Its not 'so what'. I don't want you getting sick." He motioned away. "Come on, let's go." He didn't ask why Hikaru was there, he just accepted it and moved on.

Hikaru frowned and it came off looking like a pout. Akira was already walking away. Hikaru shoved his hands in his jean pockets and followed sullenly after. This was their relationship. Akira had his life, Hikaru had his. They hung out when they could. Hikaru would show up where Akira was randomly, and Akira would take him home so they could do whatever together. And that damn squirt bottle! Akira sprayed Hikaru whenever Hikaru did something he didn't like or he thought was bad. It was like he was training a pet! And that's why Hikaru was frowning.

He'd been so happy when Akira found him again after so many years. He'd loved the pet name 'kitten' that Akira had given him. But now…now he was worried that Akira really only saw him as a pet, a cat.

Just outside of Akira's house, Hikaru heard a shout and stopped, looking toward a house across the street with a wall around it – just like Akira's – and a black metal gate. Behind the gate was a sleek grey cat that was staring at him. "Hey!" the cat yelled again.

Hikaru gaped. He glanced at Akira and then ran over to the house. "Sai?" he asked quietly, his shock showing through.

The cat grinned. "I thought that was you, Hikaru!" he cheered childishly. "You're still with that young man, I see."

Hikaru frowned but managed to get a small smile back just after. "Yea. He's busy a lot of the time, but we hang out just the same."

"What's the matter?" Sai asked, sitting back on his hind legs and wrapping his tail around himself. He tilted his head curiously. "You were so happy when he found you."

"I am," Hikaru assured him with a nod. "I am happy. It's just that sometimes, every once in awhile, I just feel like his pet instead of his friend."

"Hikaru," Sai chastised. "You could never be a pet! You're much too large!"

Hikaru laughed outright at that. A footstep sounded just behind him and then, "Hikaru?" Hikaru looked behind him, as did Sai, to see Akira giving him a curious look. "What are you doing?"

"Oh," Hikaru let out, stopping his laughter a bit abruptly. "I was talking with Sai. He's the kitten I'd found the day you showed up in the shelter." He motioned to the grey cat now licking his front paws.

Akira grinned. "Is he now? Looks like he found a good home." He knelt down next to Hikaru by the gate.

"Indeed I did," Sai agreed with a nod. "I'm never hungry and they have children around all the time: grandchildren, great grandchildren, friends of children. I get played with all the time!"

Hikaru smiled. Akira looked at him with a question in his eyes and Hikaru translated. "He said he has a lot of food to eat and lots of children to play with, so he's really happy."

Akira's expression turned nostalgic. "Mmm…That does sound fun." There was a moment of silence in which Hikaru and Sai just stared at Akira and then Akira shook his head. "We should move. I wouldn't want Mrs. Hempburn thinking I'm trying to steal her cat." He stood and offered his hand to Hikaru. "Come on. Maria's making tea."

"Right," Hikaru agreed, taking Akira's hand and standing up. He waved at Sai. "See you later, Sai!"

"Bye, Hikaru! Have fun!" Sai called out, placing his front paws on the gate and standing on his hind legs only. He looked kind of like a little person doing that and it made Hikaru smile.

They were inside drinking tea and eating little snacks when Hikaru decided it was about time he told Akira his secret. "So, Akira," he began, nervously fiddling with his tea cup. "I started taking Go lessons a little while ago."

Akira was instantly interested. "You did? That's great! When?" He smiled.

Hikaru scratched the back of his neck with a smile. "Actually, about three months ago…just before Christmas." He dropped his hand to the table top. "I thought, maybe if I could play Go, we could play together some time." He held Akira's gaze the whole time, but he was so nervous!

Akira regarded him with a different sort of interest. "We could…play a game right now," he suggested, glancing away to the room where he kept his Go stuff. "I could see how well you play and maybe teach you a bit."

Hikaru beamed. "That'd be great. I'd love to. Let's do it!" he cheered.

_Scene Break_

* * *

_Scene Break_

A half an hour later and the game was over. Akira had won by a landslide. Hikaru set his chin in his hand and idly messed with the stones in his bowl while Akira explained where he'd gone wrong. It was just like at the Institute…still, he'd never really felt this defeated before.

"Hikaru, are you listening?" Akira accused.

Hikaru jumped to attention and nodded. "Yes! Of course I am! I understood everything you just said," he declared proudly.

Akira narrowed his eyes. "Do I have to go get the squirt bottle?" he asked lowly.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes too. "What is it with you and that squirt bottle? Do you get some sort of sick pleasure from squirting me with water all the time?"

Akira shook his head and tapped his fingers on the board. "No. But I told you I would train all the bad habits out of my kitten, didn't I?" It was a tease. Hikaru knew it was a tease. It still hurt.

He stood up abruptly. "I'm not a pet!" he shouted. Akira jumped in shock and Hikaru gave him a withering glare. "I'm a person," he said at a much softer level. "I'm a person and I just wanted to….Oh never mind!" Without explaining himself, Hikaru turned and left the room, left the house, and went home.

"I'm home!" Hikaru announced when he walked through the door, toeing off his shoes.

"Welcome back!" His mother called from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon, ok?"

"Yea, sure." He hurried up the stairs and into his room and then collapsed on his bed. "Augh!" he yelled into his pillow.

Why had he done that? He knew Akira was teasing! He knew! Akira was always teasing about the fact that had brought them together. He knew the water bottle was just Akira's joking way of looking out for him, for his best interests. Yet…he wanted to be a person to Akira. He had very little hope of ever becoming something special to Akira, something more than a friend. But that hope became null when he considered the fact that maybe Akira only saw him as a pet, or even_ slightly_ saw him as a pet. A boy liking another boy was bad enough, a person having romantic feelings for an _animal_….that was even worse.

Still, he shouldn't have shouted like that. Akira didn't deserve to be shouted at. Akira was a kind person. Hikaru was selfish.

_Scene Break_

* * *

_Scene Break_

A week passed without Hikaru seeing Akira. He sneaked around the Go Institute to go to his classes and tried to avoid Touya Corp and Akira's house as best he could. He even kinda feared going in to work at the shelter with Akari because Akira might show up there looking for him.

Oops. That's exactly what happened eight days after Hikaru's little outburst.

"There ya go," Hikaru said soothingly as he set a little orange tabby cat back in her cage. "You did very well, Sarah," he complimented.

Sarah shivered in her cage and gave a small sneeze but managed a little kitten smile. She'd been filthy when the woman had brought her in, all covered in fleas and mud and all manner of other gunk. The woman had found her wandering outside a McDonald's during her lunch break and had brought her here. Sarah was so frightened that Hikaru had barely managed to get her name out of her. Now clean and flea free, she looked much better and so much cuter.

"Thank you," she murmured out.

Hikaru smiled. "No problem. You just rest up in here and let me know if you need anything, ok?"

She nodded and set her head down on her little paws. "Uh-huh."

The smile still in place, Hikaru softly shut the cage door and meandered back out into the main room. Most of the cats were dozing in the sun coming in through the big window in the far wall, and the ones that were awake weren't talking to him, so it was a pretty quiet day in the Cat Cottage. He'd barely entered the main area when he caught sight of Akira sitting in the waiting room.

"Ah!" he gasped and hid behind the wall.

"Hikaru," Akira nearly breathed out and Hikaru cursed. He'd been spotted. He heard Akira walk over but stayed hidden. "Hikaru, can we talk?"

Hikaru turned his head to face Akira as the other boy crossed the doorway and stood by him. Akira looked torn, almost broken. Hikaru felt his resolve shatter and sighed. "Sure. Come on," he motioned for Akira to follow him and took him to the break room. No one was in there right now. With the door shut behind them, Hikaru dropped into a seat and watched Akira take one across from him. The room was small so they were pretty close to each other either way. "So?"

Akira took a deep breath and locked eyes with Hikaru. "So, I don't know exactly what happened the other day." Hikaru blushed and broke eye contact to stare at the floor. "I just know that I somehow…hurt you. I'm sorry for that. I get the feeling that you think that I still think you're a cat."

Wow, say that five times fast, Hikaru thought.

"I don't. Not really," Akira assured him, his voice very soft. "I mean, I don't see you with fur and claws and I don't expect you to curl up and take naps in the sun or to meow or anything….But I do think you'll follow me to work and home and I do expect to feed you at my house and I want to play with you and spend all my free time with you." Akira sighed and Hikaru saw him put his elbows on his knees out of the corner of his eye. "I guess…I was being a bit too playful with the whole 'kitten' thing and not taking into account how that would make you feel."

"Yea," Hikaru broke in. "You kinda did." He turned his head to stare at Akira again. "I kept feeling like I was only a pet to you, something to entertain you when nothing else was going on and…and I wanted….I _want_ to be more than that, a lot more than that," he admitted with a faint blush.

Akira smiled. "Me too," he agreed with a nod and moved to sit directly next to Hikaru. He placed a hand on Hikaru's right knee. "I never want to lose you, Hikaru. If it'll make you feel better, I'll stop referring to you as my pet kitten, ok?"

Hikaru grinned. "Well, I don't really mind the part where you call me 'kitten'…but if you could make the squirt bottle disappear, that'd be a good start. I'd feel less like a pet you're trying to train then."

Akira pat Hikaru's knee. "Hikaru, you are not a pet I'm trying to train." He grinned like he'd just heard a good joke and then said, "You're much too big for that."

Hikaru laughed and leaned forward to hide his face in his legs as he continued to giggle. When he felt he could talk, several _long_ moments later, he sat up a bit and looked at Akira. "Are…are you sure you can't talk to animals?" he asked between his giggles. He snorted at the look of utter confusion on Akira's face.

"What?"

* * *

Fin.

Thoughts? Comments? Reviews?


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